"Preacher" is out on MoviePointer HD, and the "This Is England" series is coming out very soon. Both are played by Joseph Gilgan. In honor of that, here's why we love the no-nonsense Brit (not just for the roles, but for them, too!).
Many actors fear being held hostage by their roles, but that's not the case with Joseph Gilgan: he plays the vulnerable goon on many shows, and he's not the least bit embarrassed by it.
Gilgan, 37-year-old, grew up in the British countryside (Rivington, 30 kilometers from Manchester) in a typical working-class family. After school, he didn't really study anywhere, dropped out of college and worked as a plasterer. The actor hides neither his roots, nor mental health problems, nor alcohol addiction (he also swears like a cobbler, passionately tells journalists tales from his life, adores tattoos and shortens his name to Joe, because it is easier for him to write three letters). In general, he looks like all his characters at once.
Joseph Gilgan Biography
Joseph William Gilgan is a British actor who made his television debut in the series Coronation Street at the age of 10. Since then, his filmography has had many interesting projects, among which the most memorable were the roles of Woody in the drama "This England" and Rudy in the "black" TV comedy "Scum."
British TV star Joseph Gilgan
What Gilgan's work, other than "Golak," is worth watching
"This is England."
1983. A company of young skinheads and a schoolboy, Sean, who has joined them, go through the most usual difficulties: problems with family, unemployment, lack of money and prospects, ideological disagreements and outbursts of xenophobia. Woody, played by Gilgan, is the soul of the company and, as much as possible, its moral compass. He takes care of his friends and tries not to let them join his old acquaintance, a Nazi who has returned from prison.
On the wave of the film's success, three more mini-series were made with the same cast: "This is England. The Year 1986", "This is England. The Year 1988" and "This is England. The Year 1990." Over the seven screen years, Woody's life has seriously changed: by the finale, he has acquired and family, and a decent job, and prospects.
All seasons of "This Is England" will appear on Kinopoisk HD in April.
"Scum."
After a severe thunderstorm, troubled teenagers engaged in community service discover they have supernatural powers. None of them rushed out to save or destroy the world, but continued to bum around.
After the departure of the star of the first two seasons, Robert Sheehan (he played Nathan Young), Gilgan was hired as the jester and jester. The ability of his character Rudy - split personality, so that the roles had to play two, and for an actor with a then undiagnosed bipolar disorder, this role was a real test. But Gilgan coped with it: his Rudy is simultaneously repulsive and charming (and for British TV is a win-win combination).
Joseph Gilgan's childhood. First Role.
Joseph is the firstborn in the classic English family of Judith and Andrew Gilgan. He later had two sisters, Jenny and Roz Gilgan. At the age of seven, doctors diagnosed the boy with dyslexia, and psychologists also diagnosed him with hyperactivity syndrome.
Joseph Gilgan as a child
As a result of a congenital disability study in Revington elementary school gave the future actor is not easy: writing, reading, mathematics ... In addition, Joseph was too active and impulsive child, which also had a negative impact on the learning process.
At age 8, the boy was sent as a therapy to the Oldham Theater Club, where teachers quickly noted his talent for transformation. In 1994, he made his debut in the soap opera "Coronation Street," where he played the next three years, but then, as is often the case with teenagers, lost interest in the filming process and left the project.
Young Joseph Gilgan.
After graduating from high school in Southends Joseph Gilgan went to Ranshaw College as a fashion designer, but did not study there long - interfered too much passion for the opposite sex, in addition, despite the creative specialty, a lot of reading and writing had to and there. Although he certainly had talent in the fashion industry, for example, Joseph once predicted that a year later outfits a la "gypsy boho" would come into fashion, and so it turned out!
The beginning of Joseph Gilgan's acting career
Because of the unsuccessful pursuit of academic success, the design business also ceased to interest the young man. For a while he worked as a plasterer in a construction site, then decided to return to acting - this is what he was always good at! For a while he starred in the soap opera "Emmerdale Farm," snatched a couple of cameo roles in little-known TV series, but in 2006 he got a major role in the drama "This is England," which introduced the audience to the British skinhead subculture. Joseph Gilgan played Woody, the leader of a gang of young hooligans. The role earned the actor a British Independent Film Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
"This is England": Joseph Gilgan as skinhead Woody
He also made his own TV series!
The idea to write the script Gilgan was planted by his colleague in the film "Pride" Dominic West. Having heard tales about stealing ponies and other troubles, which visited the actor, West promised to play any role in such a show, if it will ever be filmed. Moreover, he pitched the idea to Pride producer David Livingston, and through him the idea reached screenwriter Daniel Blocklehurst. After receiving this thorough support, Gilgan began to work out the plot and characters. Because of his dyslexia, he could not write himself and instead sent voice messages, more like podcasts, to Blockhurst, who codified them into a script.
Work on "Golak" went on for five years. When the series got the green light from Sky, Gilgan took on two positions at once, the lead actor and the general producer. And Dominic West kept his word and played the psychiatrist.
Read more about the series
- "Golak": A series about gopniks in the best traditions of Britcrime and Ken Loach
Joseph Gilgan and "Scum": a new round of popularity
In 2011, Joseph Gilgan successfully auditioned for the popular sci-fi comedy series "Scum." He had to go through two auditions, and the second time he almost got turned around with the words "We need someone younger!", and Joseph went back dressed as a car thief: sneakers with a massive sole, a hat on his back, what made the producer of the show very funny.
Joseph Gilgan played a very interesting and controversial role in Scum
Joseph Gilgan's character in "Scum" was named Rudy Wade, a young man, a vandal and hijacker with a very marginal character, endowed with the "superpower" of a material split personality. Gilgan's character is a very contradictory, complex personality, like the actor himself.
"Rudy from 'Scum'" - Joseph Gilgan's most famous role
This project lasted until December 2013, and in 2012, Joseph Gilgan was awarded Best Newcomer (SFX Awards) and Sudden Star (Virgin Media TV Awards).
Joseph Gilgan with a beard
In addition, during the filming, the actor became friends with other young celebrities involved in the project, in particular, the future star of "Game of Thrones" Ivan Rheon and Antonia Thomas.
He gives very funny and very frank interviews
In conversations with journalists, Gilgan often avoids answering boring questions and begins to tell something that seems more appropriate to the topic - a story from the shooting, a childhood memory or an anecdote.
In one interview, he talked about settling into an abandoned house in the woods and camping out in it while he fixed the leaky roof. In another, he worried that after the premiere of "Golyak" he will be perceived only as an actor and will not believe that he could come up with all of this himself. In a third - sneered at the lack of popularity in dating apps: "No one is looking for a bipolar bum who lives in the woods.
During the "Preacher" promo, Gilgan gave an entire interview about how he had to shave his chest. At the beginning of filming of the second season, the show's makeup artists were horrified by his new tattoo - the actor had a huge magpie printed on his chest. Almost the entire season it had to hide it under makeup, and for this Gilgan shaved everything he could reach. He was happy to talk about this exciting experience on camera.
Joseph Gilgan's Personal Life
Joseph Gilgan's personal life is quiet and calm, although you can't tell that from the character of his favorite characters. The actor is very hard to get close to people. The reason for such an unsociability is his childhood complexes associated with dyslexia. But, like any creative person, the actor dreams of an ideal faithful woman, girlfriend and lover.
In life, Joseph Gilgan is not like his characters.
Fans of the actor rarely saw him with women, but still they are present in his life. From 2006 to 2008, Joseph Gilgan's girlfriend was his girlfriend named Jade. For some time, the actor met with Vicky Lee McClure, who played the role of Lol, an active member of a skinhead gang, in the movie "This is England". Not so long ago, there were rumors that Joseph Gilgan married a certain Inna Kyuhai, but the actor himself did not comment on this information.
Joseph Gilgan and Vicki McClure (still from "This Is England")
Joseph transfers his dreams onto his body in the form of tattoos. Each tattoo is more than just a drawing, it is an actor's experience of a sad or joyful event.
All of Joseph Gilgan's tattoos are dedicated to people or events important to him
He has cool tattoos.
The best definition of Gilgan's tattoos was in an episode of Preacher: "Painted like a wall in a men's room." There it was about his character Cassidy, but you could say the same about the actor himself. And Gilgan is always hitting something new. Some of the drawings and inscriptions are role-related.
- The swallow on his right arm and small tattoos with letters and triangles on his fingers were made before the filming of "This Is England" specifically for the image of a skinhead Woody. So was "Lol," the name of his on-screen lover.
- The numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 on the chest are the numbers of the cast of "Scum" as they were listed in the production documents (2 - Ivan Rheon, 3 - Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and so on).
- The comic book bauble on his left hand is a souvenir from the filming of "Preacher" in honor of the series' source material, the comic book series of the same name.
Joseph Gilgan today.
In 2021, Joseph Gilgan was busy filming "Preacher," an adaptation of the Vertigo comic book series of the same name. It makes you think about good and evil, about finding your true self. The action of "Preacher" extends far beyond the terrestrial world, the appearance of "hell" and "heaven," God and angels, and a fair share of action stirred the blood of fantasy fans.
"Preacher": Joseph Gilgan as the vampire Cassidy
For Joseph Gilgan, "Preacher" was a serious, varied work. His character is an extraordinary, contradictory personality, just like Joseph himself. The actor got the role of half-mad Irish vampire, alcoholic and drug addict Cassidy. His character was so bright and characteristic that at times eclipsed the performers of the main roles - Dominic Cooper and Ruth Negga. Joseph Gilgan interview about Cassidy In parallel with Preacher, the restless Joseph Gilgan starred in the intriguing film Undercover Scam, starring Bryan Cranston. The picture was released in August 2021.
